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American Militarism: a Serious Threat to World Peace

The United States, in the global arena, policies advocated by Donald Trump and his current administration, has increasingly relinquished its responsibilities for multiple things, namely: the protection of the environment; world peace; and cooperation with other countries and international institutions to reduce tension and militarism.

After the irresponsible decision of withdrawing from the JCPoA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) in relation with Iran, and later, exiting the Paris Accord on Climate Change, seemingly oblivious to the opposition and protest of many of the world leaders, the political and economic representatives and also the environmental activists from different countries; in his last action, the Trump’s government unilaterally withdrew from the INF Treaty (Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) which was signed between the US and the Soviet Union 32 years ago. Subsequently, Russia also announced that they do not see themselves obligated to abide by this treaty and Vladimir Putin said: “Of course, the United States’ decision on exiting this treaty cannot be left with no response” (Dec 4, 2018).

Withdrawing from the INF Treaty is another part of Trump and his administration’s plans for dominating the world by military force. This action will not only expand the volume of WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) that the US has, but will also subsequently increase the potential for an arms race in the global arena; this is of particular danger as an arms race could potentially expose the entire population of the Earth to a risk of total annihilation.

Trump, in his election campaigns, promised to withdraw US military forces from the Middle East. However, not only has he kept his military forces almost in all the countries in that region in intact, but has opened new fronts for creating tension in international arena. With Trump in power as the president, the tension between US and nations such as China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela and the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea increased intensely. By supporting the criminal and aggressive policies of Israel, policies which are opposed by the United Nations and other international institutions, and despite the opposition of Middle Eastern countries, the foundation for new tensions and more military conflicts in the region has been laid.

The US military budget in 2019 has reached the astronomical record of $717 billion, which has prepared this country for costly military conflicts around the globe and consequently, there are few regions in the world that could be immune from US military aggression, should they decide to advance aggressively.

Similarly, Trump’s government has also ordered for a military force in outer space to be created as soon as possible, in order for it to become the fourth dimension of US military forces. Its financial resources are considered in the August 2019 US budget in order to consolidate its military hegemony in outer space, where in the future, it is expected to have its own separate and independent financial resource as a new military force.

According to Trump’s orders, United States with determination is looking forward to be the dominant military force in outer space by 2020; one of the United States’ future plans is to build fighter jets armed with lasers which are considered as a precursor to the possible space wars. These fighters are capable of carrying nuclear warheads and placing them in the Earth’s orbits.

From 1950, the UN has drafted and approved different treaties to make military use of outer space illegal. The most important of these happened in 1976, in which the goal was to protect outer space; the area was recognized as belonging to all of humanity. The decision by the Trump government to deploy military force to outer space, particularly around the Earth itself, has clearly violated the international treaties, in a similar manner to many other actions of theirs in the recent few decades; particularly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the US has violated different treaties and has tried to protect its hegemony over the world by the use of military force.

It is important to note that unilateral withdrawal from the INF treaty allows the US to expand its long-range missile system.

In 2008, China and Russia presented the draft resolution of the treaty to avoid the deployment of weapons in outer space (around Earth); they noted that the weapons could be a threat to the satellites and the space stations, and they highlighted that the United Nations could help maintain world peace. But the US was not seeking peace, and under the pretext that the “enemies” were planning to use the space as a war zone against US satellites, rejected this proposal.

This proposal was put forward again in 2014 and the US rejected it once more. By withdrawing from the INF treaty early this year, Trump sent a direct and clear message to the US officials that they have to complete the fourth dimension of the US military force as soon as possible. This is overtly a plan aiming to achieve full military dominance over the world.

In late 2017, the “Space News” website reported that the US Ministry of Defence signed a contract with Lockheed Martin Corporation amounting to $26.3 million, with the purpose being to fund developing lasers for fighter jets. This report states that these lasers are planned to be ready by 2021.

In order to protect its interest and create a balance of power, the United States (under the excuse of “expanding capabilities and power” of other countries in the field of space weaponry) sees this as its right to achieve more advanced technology. Regarding this matter, on the “Space News” website, a report was published by the CIA in which it was claimed that China and Russia have been able to expand powerful and efficient space facilities that are capable of tracing, chasing, and targeting the US and its allies’ military forces (11 February, 2019).

The US has a powerful space technology and has relative superiority to other countries in this regard, and using the excuse of other countries’ achievements in new technologies, has always tried to expand its military forces and has attempted to protect its hegemony in all military fields in the world. Presently, the United States, as the largest military force in the world, has 374 warships and has military bases in 140 countries in the world. However, in the last few decades, due to the growth of the capabilities of countries such as China and Russia, the United States faces new challenges in the world competitions. With China’s increasing economic power and influence around the world, the United States sees increased military competition as one of the most effective ways to confront this country. Based on this notion, the United States is trying to militarize outer space, thus expanding its competitions to outer space. Since the space-based weapons around the Earth can be used against satellites, the United States is trying to take control of these weapons in space; out of almost 1000 satellites, 593 belong to the US. The United States has spent more than any other country on space weaponry, and this could spark fire in the arms race in space.

With the creation of a space military force, Trump’s government plans to create two things: firstly, it wishes to create the conditions for astronomical incomes for US military complexes, as it knows well that other countries in the extra-terrestrial arms race will, for “security protection” and their own advantage, turn to US to buy American weaponry; secondly, by forcing other powerful countries to compete with America, it can prohibit them from pursuing their own economic programs. Such a situation would be a serious threat to peace in our planet, which is currently fraught with numerous incidents and widespread military conflicts. This situation, by adding the slightest tension, can flame up wider wars and, considering the number of nuclear weapons in the world, humanity and all its creatures will be in danger of being totally destroyed. Reducing and destroying all weapons of mass destruction throughout the world is one of the most vital tasks of humanity. Yet with the warmongering and anti-human policies of the Trump government, the achievement of this goal is seeming to be increasingly unattainable.

With the advent of Donald Trump’s government, which must be recognized as the representative of the United States’ giant arms and oil monopolies, many political experts and activists have assessed the US administrations’ policy for world peace and have concluded that the situation is extremely worrisome. The moves and the positions taken by Trump after his victory underscored these concerns. Currently, we are witnessing an increase in tensions around the world. The unilateral withdrawal of the nuclear deal with Iran, despite the opposition of all parties to the treaty; the unilateral withdrawal of the Non-Proliferation Nuclear Warhead Treaty with Russia; conflicts of trade tariffs with China; creating tensions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea; the announcement of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; and recently, supporting the annexation of the Golan Heights to Israel: all of these factors have put the world at risk of wars and new conflicts. Trump’s team at the White House and the selection of warmongering individuals such as John Bolton, Mike Pompeo, and Brian Hooke (special envoy to the US State Department on Iran affairs) are major threats from the United States and its partners against the world.